Safety rail systems are used to provide a barrier around work areas where worker safety is an issue. Examples include construction sites, such as to keep workers from falling off an edge of a roof or falling down uncompleted stairwells and to keep the general public out of the site as well as limiting access at festivals, sporting events, and the like. Such systems must be portable to allow for temporary work to be done while also being sturdy enough to not easily tip over or otherwise accidentally move or dislodge. Portable safety rail systems must also exceed OSHA safety regulations for permanent safety railings.
Conventional portable rail systems are modular systems that are assembled on a given job site in accordance with the specific work constraints of the site. As such they must be stored when not in use. Such systems typically utilize tubular railings having horizontal rails extending between vertical posts. The lower ends of the railings are slid into tubular sockets or receptors of bases. Gates that can be opened or closed can also be provided to allow selective passage into and out of the barricaded area. Typically the bases are quite heavy, 40 pounds or more, for example. Storage and transportation of these bases can be problematic as prior bases have not stacked securely and trying to transport them as a stack can be hazardous due to their weight.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,257 discloses one portable safety rail system that utilizes a plurality of bases into which tubular guardrail sections can be inserted. The system is modular and can be assembled into various configurations of bases, rail sections and gates. The rail sections can be set at any angle from the bases, however, they are unable to rotate once they are locked into place and locking them in place can be difficult because holes in the railings must be properly aligned with slots in the base. In addition, use of a gate requires a number of additional and different parts. Further, the configuration of the bases does not allow them to be stably stacked for transport and storage.
As such, it would be advantageous for portable safety rail systems to provide a greater and simpler degree of customizability and a simpler and easier system for transport and storage.